I've got to be in the right mood to watch certain Oscar qualifying stuff as simple, no-frills drama might turn my brain to bored mush before I reach the 10 minute marker. But once that mood has been attained, watching a family drama like The Descendants becomes a pleasure. Having already swept several of the early 2012 movies awards it's poised to chase down Oscar this year at the Academy Awards in February. And deservedly too as it's an enjoyable and quirky story stuffed with great characters, deftly interconnected story lines and filled with a wry sense of humour.
It's a simple tale of a father of two daughters who is suddenly thrust in to the primary parenting role when his wife is injured and made comatose following a power boating accident. Told from the fathers point of view by a never-better George Clooney it's an unsentimental, authentic and honest feeling story of coping with day to day life in the face of adversity. It's not the comedy that it's been described as but it does possess a down-to-earth absurdity that real life awkward and tragic situations have, and it's this that gives the film it's offbeat edge. Tonally it gets the balance right between the potentially depressing subjects of death, infidelity and dysfunctional families with a lightness of touch with the ensemble of characters and a constantly evolving narrative that doesn't let the gloom settle for very long at any one time.
What with this and The Ides Of March in the last 12 months, Clooney's search for quality projects is showing no sign of running out of steam.
No comments:
Post a Comment